Class of 2183
by SinceILeftYou
Summary: All of the characters of Mass Effect, but not as we know them. Highschool will never be the same.
1. Beginnings

**A/N: OMGOMGOMG! Mass Effect 3 coming late 2011! Plus the most AWESOME trailer ever! When I saw it I ran around squealling like an overexcited schoolgirl - although that may be slightly more to do with the fact I'd just necked a big, sugary bottle of mountain dew. Mmmm...**

**And please excuse my incoherent ramblings, I'm just that excited right now :D**

The writing on the door mirrored the writing on the piece of paper in Alison Shepard's hand: This must be the right room.

_4B_

_Dr Solus_

Tenatively she placed her hand on the cold brass knob of the door and opened it. She was ready to take her first steps into the deep unknown beyond...


	2. Form

Shepard's heart was pounding in her chest: It seemed every eye in the room was on her. Fellow students of all species were sizing her up; what was she was here in _their _territory? Desperately she searched the room for a friendly face; anybody, just to quench the deep feeling of unease in her gut with familiarity...

She locked eyes with a fiery redhead.

_Come on, just give me a sign..._

The red haired girl granted her a small smile of recognition. Shepard shot over to the desk next to her before she could change her mind.

"Uh... excuse me? Is this seat taken?"

"Knock yourself out," the girl shot Alison a wide grin. "New girl, huh?"

"Uh, yeah. I just moved here. With my parents." _Real great way to introduce yourself._ "I'm Alison by the way,"

"Kelly Chambers. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"So um... what's Dr Solus like?"

"Complete and utter insanity guaranteed: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I don't think anyone's quite over the time we came into form and were presented with Varren kidneys to dissect; of course _Miranda_ had to make a fuss about breaking a nail or something else ridiculous like that."

_Who's Miranda? And what the hell do Varren kidneys have to do with registration?_

"Why?"

"Oh hell if I know, probably something to do with one of his wacky experiments. Mordin can talk the hind legs off of a donkey if prompted, but his heart's always in the right place."

"Mordin?"

"Ah, new girl, so you wouldn't know. He's not so big on the whole formal 'call me Dr Solus' thing: It may say Dr Solus on the door, but it's just Mordin to us."

"Isn't that a little informal? Shouldn't he be worried about getting into trouble or something?"

Kelly chuckled. "That isn't the half of it; I'm amazed they still keep him on after all of the shit he's pulled over the years. I guess it's because he's such an accredited scientist who's chosen to teach at a small hick town school like this; despite being able to work just about anywhere he wanted, for just about whatever _pay_ he wanted. Hah, I always said he was a fruitcake..."

"And Miranda?"

Kelly's eyes wandered from Alison's to the door of the classroom. Alison turned to look and was met with the most stunning girl she had ever seen in her life; every inch of her skin was tanned an impeccable golden butter, her long black hair was defined in smooth curls, she wore a short pleated skirt which showed off her defined legs in knee high white socks, finally, a slightly-too-small pink sweater set her outfit off. Somehow, she had managed to pull the trampy-preppy look off perfectly. She took her place at the front of the classroom amongst a group of Miranda clones.

"...always has to make an entrance, doesn't she?"

"Mmm," Something about the way Kelly looked made Alison feel if she didn't change the subject soon she'd be listening to Kelly rant on about Miranda all through registration.

"Is there anyone else in the form I should know about?"

"You see those empty tables there?"

"Yes?"

"That's where Grunt, Jack and Kasumi usually sit. Two humans, one krogan."

"Usually?"

"Usually as in they don't usually turn up to form and don't usually as in rarely. They aren't exactly the academic types."

"Ahhh. And who's that?"

She pointed to a human walking in the room with perfectly chiselled features.

"...that's Jacob."

He gave her a smile and waved. She shot him only a tiny smile in return.

"So... what's the deal between you two?"

"I'd rather not talk about it."

"Really? But how come-"

"I said _drop it._"

"Oh... okay. Who's the Quarian up front?"

"That's Tali, one of Mordin's pet pupils, a complete and utter prodigy in the sciences. Sweet but incredibly timid."

"And the Drell?"

"Thane. Barely speaks a word; no idea if it's because he's just that shy or just that intense. Always sits at the back of the classroom and writes poetry. You get the cliché."

"Mhmm. Does this school have a football squad or anything?"

"Yepp, you see the gang of guys Jacob is sitting with? They're the jocks, all idiots for the most part. There's a cheerleaders too, you see the Asari and the Human up front?"

"Yeah?"

"That's Ash and Liara; been best friends since they were in diapers, now they're joint captains of the squad."

The door opened revealing a Turian.

"Who's he?"

"That's Garrus Vakarian, your average all rounder: Aces his classes and still finds time to be a star on the sports field..."

The jocks waved at Garrus.

"...the kind of guy who knows everybody, and yet is still incredibly distant at the same time..."

Garrus waved back and took a seat next to Tali.

"...he kinda dotes on Tali though. It's sweet."

Tali's suit's mouthpiece lit up as she murmured something to Garrus, who laughed throatily in return.

"Any staff I need to look out for?"

"Nobody really, most of the teachers here are fairly decent. If I say one thing though, avoid the janitor at all costs."

"Janitor?"

Yeah, the name's Massini, and the guy hates our guts. Once locked a student who sassed him up in a cupboard; an 'accident' apparently."

"Oh, I'll bet!"

"Yeah, but this school is a firm believer of innocent until proven guilty. Which reminds me, you aren't scheduled to take IT are you?"

"Oh good god no. Why?"

"Ah, I thought I could give you a heads up: The teacher's a Geth."

"What? Where the hell did this school get a teaching Geth of all things?"

"Old teacher walked out a few months ago and nobody else would take the post. A few weeks later –lo and behold- Mordin has managed to reprogram a bust up Geth down in his secret laboratory. Caused uproar in the PA meetings, the notion alone could have easily cost him his job..."

"And why is he still here then?"

"Well, it's not like the school had many other options: Besides, he built in a failsafe so if the programming does go haywire the thing autodestructs. The real irony of the whole fiasco is that Legion is a far better teacher than Miss al-Jilani ever was.

"Legion? That thing has a name now?"

"Yeah, Mordin says it named itself after the hordes and hordes of Geth it's networked to. Well WAS networked to, it's just an isolated platform now."

"And how do you know it's not just pretending to be isolated?"

"Oh come on, it's a _robot. _The core programming told it to relay information to its little robot friends constantly: Geth are sophisticated, I'll admit that, but they're nowhere near sophisticated enough to pull off a stunt like that. The school put it on a trial run – along with security guards as an extra failsafe – and the thing behaved perfectly along with a sharp increase in grades. The system works."

"Hmph. Fine."

"Good morning class."

"Good morning Mordin!" The room chorused.

Dr Solus was an aged Salarian with a medium build and pale skin; even as he greeted the class, he was playing with an omni-tool.

"I have an announcement, today's girls volleyball game is cancelled. Coach Samara still off it seems."

Alison gave Kelly a puzzled look who mouthed 'later' back at her.

"And Miss Lawson?"

"Yes Dr Solus?" she simpered.

"Skirt an unacceptable length." He looked up and half-jokingly reprimanded her, "Do not let me see you in it again. Otherwise detention will be impending."

"Sorry Dr Solus, it won't happen again."

Miranda waited until Mordin was distracted by his omni-tool again before rolling her eyes at her friends.

_"Wow, what a bitch." _Alison thought.

"That is all. Form dismissed."

"Long registration." Kelly yawned.

"Wait? What do you mean long? And shouldn't he have taken a register?"

"That's what he was doing on his omni-tool."

"Miss Shepard? May I have a word?"

"Ooops, looks like he wants to get to know the newbie, I'll catch you later." Kelly raced out of the room.

"Yes Dr Solus?"

"Call me Mordin." He gave her a warm smile. "How are you finding this school so far?"

"Um... great. Everyone seems so friendly."

"Yes. It is only a matter of time before today is but a distant blur in your memory. School can seem huge, intimidating at times, many trials ahead. But also just as many good times. Try to enjoy yourself; these are the years which you will look back to and treasure."

"Thanks..."

"Well, won't keep you. The day calls."

And with that he strode out of the classroom.

Alison wasn't sure what to make of the odd Salarian's words: Was he was as cracked up as Kelly made him to be or truly wise? Maybe he was a little bit of both.

She shrugged her shoulders and walked out of the empty classroom.

* * *

**(real)A/N: Although this was initially conceived as a one shot writing exercise type thing, I hope I've left enough open to be added to at a later date. I really think there's a lot of potential behind this ^^**

**Plus I've always wanted to write GarrusXTali. Untill next time,xxx**


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